All You Need Is Love
by FrozenInsideTheWinter
Summary: Regina struggles to make her own dreams happen as others are forced upon her; (ONESHOT)


Regina opened her eyes to a glowing ray of sunshine settling upon her face. She slowly sat up and swung her legs over the side of her silk-sheeted bed, turning to look out the window. The animals grazing in the pastures looked as joyful as always as the sun crept happily along the morning sky. She glanced at the stable boy hurrying after a horse looking to stray from the barn, but he soon brought it back to the stable. It was a nice day, and she was looking forward to reading a book under the lovely oak tree that sat peacefully on a small hill, a ways away from the mansion.

"Regina!" her mother yelled, as she suddenly appeared in her doorway in a drift of blue magic.

"You're going to be late! Why need I remind you of everything?"

She ducked her head solemnly, "I'm sorry mother, it won't happen again."

"No man is going to marry you, I know it. Get dressed, girl."

Her mother finished the lecture with a glare and hurriedly left the room. She sighed and turned to her vanity, not in a rush despite her mother's words. She sat and took her long dark hair out of its braid and called her servant to help her get dressed. The room was silent. The house was silent. She despised the silence, for it was constantly filled with unsaid words that were misunderstood, yearned to be said, and longed to know.

She looked at her reflection in the vanity mirror for a long time, trying to figure out why this life was so difficult. Always trying to please people, make them happy, when no one bothered to make her happy. Her mother always said all this work and Seasonal Celebrations and etiquette lessons would pay off when she found a rich husband and lived the luxurious life she was meant to. But she never thought that was the life for her. All the wanted was to be happy, but her mother had different plans. Whenever peasant children saw her in the outside world they would always ask her about her dresses and hair. Sometimes, when her mother wasn't around, she would tell them stories to entertain them, and taught them to go after their dreams and live a happy life, one she was not currently living.

_"Miss?"_

_Regina looked down at a boy standing next to her carriage and quickly wiped away the tears that had erupted after an argument with her mother._

_"Yes?"_

_"My mother told me that my family will never have very many nice things and we will be looked down upon by everyone because we are poor, and our class in society won't allow us to gain much more money. Is it true?"_

_She thought about it for a second before leaning down to his eye level, "What's your name?"_

_"Jacob," he replied._

_She smiled, "Well, Jacob, remember that some people are so poor, all they have is money."_

_The boy smiled back at her and ran away through the crowds of village people._

She smiled faintly at the memory, but her daydreaming was interrupted by her servant, Sarah, coming in to aid her.

"I'm sorry I'm late, my lady, I was helping out in the kitchen. Which dress would you like to wear tonight?"

Regina stood and went to her closet, picking out a light, moonlight blue and off-the-shoulder gown of silk material . The servant tied the corset to the dress so tight she could barely breathe, but all she could think about was what came next after this celebration ball. Would she find a husband at this event? Would her fate be sealed? She couldn't let her mother control her life, control everything. She wasn't even living, her mother was.

* * *

She heard the laughter and the grand music filling her ears, but she felt miserable. She felt miserable at all of these events, just waiting for the moment her mother approved the "right" man for her to marry. She walked in the ballroom and in a matter of seconds she was swarmed with different men asking her to dance. She chose one reluctantly and saw her mother glancing her way from across the room before starting a conversation with another noble woman. She turned back to the man in front of her and frowned, but continuing to dance. She danced and danced but never spoke, and it went on like that for the rest of the night other than the occasional "you're very beautiful" from a polite gentlemen. She rode home tired and relieved that she had not yet found a husband, and hoped she wouldn't until she loved someone with all her heart.

* * *

_**6 months**_** later...**

Daniel and Regina walked up to the oak tree on the hill, their new favorite place. He had told her how she shouldn't be afraid of her mother, and that she couldn't do anything to keep them apart. She knew that was wrong, it was all wrong, and Daniel wanted to tell her mother about their relationship. Stable boys in poverty and noble girls were taught to barely look at each other, certainly not to marry each other.

"She has powerful magic," she tried to explain to him franticly, "She will destroy us."

"But we have love," he argued and leaned in for a kiss, "Isn't that more important?"

She suddenly heard a shrill scream come from the field below the hill and whipped around, afraid they'd been caught.

She saw a small girl riding a horse that had run free from wherever it had come from, and it was running much too fast. The girl was hanging on for her life, and was going to fall and be trampled if she were to let go.

Regina turned to her horse that was standing by the tree and mounted quickly, charging down the hill to rescue an innocent life, not knowing what a terrible path it would set her future on.

* * *

_**Hi! I'm so sorry I haven't written anything in forever but I promise I'll be back on. I'll also continue to post on Light Up The Sky. Anyway I hope you liked it! :)**_


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